Miller: Letting Hunter go is the right thing to do – if ...

Nov. 6, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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If Torii Hunter has indeed played his last game as an Angel, as it appears, there are many things they will miss about him. But if not re-signing him allows the Angels to retain Zack Greinke, the sacrifice will be worth it. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

If Torii Hunter has indeed played his last game as an Angel, as it appears, there are many things they will miss about him. But if not re-signing him allows the Angels to retain Zack Greinke, the sacrifice will be worth it. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A fly out to right.

In the third inning.

Of a nothing game.

In an empty ballpark.

In Seattle.

That's how Torii Hunter's time with the Angels will end?

Apparently so, one of the franchise's all-time most popular players turning in his halo when he was replaced by Kole Calhoun – an eighth-round draft choice wearing jersey No. 56 – in a game the Angels eventually would lose, 12-0.

The official attendance in Safeco Field on the evening of Oct. 3: 15,614. It's unclear if any of them noticed Hunter's exit.

Hardly seems right.

Well, if the money that would have gone to re-signing Hunter now goes to re-signing Zack Greinke, this situation couldn't be more right.

And that's what General Manager Jerry Dipoto must do now. Dipoto and, of course, Arte Moreno, the one parting with the millions necessary to make this happen, must lock up Greinke long-term.

That's how they can justify allowing Hunter to walk. They realize this, as well, as much as anyone does.

This will mean outspending everyone once again, but we all know that's something they can do, the Angels being the defending champions of baseball's winter meetings.

Greinke, by his position alone, puts the Angels closer to winning a real title in 2013 than Hunter does.

The Detroit Tigers just proved pitching is what can take a team to the World Series. Once there, the San Francisco Giants just proved pitching is what can take a team the rest of the way, too.

Baseball is full of stories about players overcoming all sorts of obstacles to ultimately triumph. Never once in the history of the sport, however, has anyone won when scoring zero runs.

So, as significant as losing Hunter would be sentimentally, his departure wouldn't be as big a blow practically. When compared to what this team desperately needs – starting pitching, relief pitching, everything pitching – Hunter is replaceable.

Like many Angel fans, we're not sold on Peter Bourjos offensively. His speed is a weapon, sure, but no one is fast enough to consistently reach first base after watching strike three.

Filling the No. 2 spot in the batting order isn't as easy as just writing in a different name. Hunter thrived in a position where other accomplished hitters have failed.

He would be missed, way more than a 37-year-old outfielder should be. Hunter was brilliant the second half of last season. Without him, the Angels never would have lasted as long as they did.

And in the clubhouse? Let's just say a team already woefully short on personality would become as engaging as a pile of dirty laundry. Without Hunter, the Angels are a group missing its voice and its smile.

As a sportswriter, the prospect of losing Hunter is legitimately painful. He is baseball's quote factory, the game's reigning Mr. Talk-tober.

Hunter just completed a contract that paid him $90 million over five years. That was a bargain compared to what the Angels would have owed him had they agreed to pay him by the word.

But the Angels don't need to bring back Hunter, at least not in the same way they need to bring back Greinke. This is not the offseason to lose 60 percent – Ervin Santana and Dan Haren already are gone – of your rotation.

At the moment, the Angels have an ace in Jered Weaver, a proven lefty in C.J. Wilson and plenty of potential in Garrett Richards. And that's it, for starters.

In a thin free-agent market, Greinke's value should swell to the point of absurdity. Last winter, the Angels spent $77.5 million for five seasons of Wilson. Greinke will cost more than that.

And that's where the money the Angels are saving on Hunter enters play. They'll need every dollar they can afford to hold off, among other teams, the Dodgers. Remember, the new ownership in L.A. has proven it also can spend in a crazy manner.

How bad would that be, Angel fans, to have Greinke pitching next summer for the other team in the Southland?

Speaking of change sights, the last time we saw Hunter at Angel Stadium he was striking out in the ninth inning of a 9-4 loss to the Mariners.

When he next appears here, he could be a member of the Boston Red Sox. Or, believe it, the New York Yankees.

Hardly seems right.

But if the Angels manage to keep Greinke, Hunter's loss wouldn't hurt nearly as much. And his return – in another team's colors – would feel good, even if it looks wrong.

Think of it this way: Always a team player, Hunter would be giving himself up one last time, a No. 2 hitter sacrificing for the greater cause.

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